Furnace.



W. J. MURPHY & A. E. GUI-LBY.

FURNACE.

ION FILED MAY 25,1910.

Patented Dec. 13, 1910.

APPLIUAT 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

@vlmeaoe s 'w. J. MURPH APPLICATION Y & A. E. CULLBY.

PURNAGE.

FILED MAY 26, 1910.

Patented Dec. 13, 1910;

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Judd/z an ash pit- 15 UNITED STATES PATENT err-Ion."

WIILIJIAM J. M'ITBPHY AND ALBERT E. CULLEY, OF BUTTE, MONTANA.

FURNACE.

Application filed May 25. 1910. Serial No. 563,369.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM J. MUR- IHY and ALBERT E. Gunner, both citizens of the United States, residing in Butte, county of Silver-bow, and State of Montana, have invented certain'new and useful Improvements in Furnaces, of which the following 1s a specificatlon.

This invention relates to furnaces and particularly to furnaces of the reverberatory type.

In reverberatory furnaces as now constructed, the charge is fed from the roof and dropped on'the hearth in piles, or fed by hand through the'side doors on the middle of the hearth. The fireplace is separated from thehearth chamber by a bridge, and hot gases from the fireplace are drawn over the bridge and against the roof of the hearth chamber. The hot gases are a completely burned at the roof and the heat is deflected against the charge on the hearth.

A furnace of the above construction is very inefficient since the heat is .all reflected heat and furthermore the gases will encircle the piles of the charge on the hearth resulting inimperfect utilization-of the heat in the gases.

. The objects of this invention are, therefore, to operate and construct a furnace so that i the heat will be fully utilized, resulting in Qefiiciencyof fuel consumption, and to provide a simple and, eflicient. method and apparatus for feeding the charge and the fuel. The invention will be described in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1. is a horizontal longitudinal section of a furnace embodying this invention. Fig. 2. is a. vertical longitudinal section.

Fig. 3. is a section on line -3 Fig. 2. and.

Fig. 4. is a section on line4-4, Fig. 2.

Thi furnace comprises a hearth chamber 10 provided with a hearth 1 1. and a roof 12 of refractory material which is inclined downwardly from front to'rear, the front being the fireplace and the rear the stack end.

A fireplace 1?) is located at the front of the furnace and is provided with a grate 14, and fire and ashpit doors 16 A forced draft may and 17 respectively.

air pipe 18 which dishe supplied by an charges underneath the grate. The. grate bars incline downwardly and rest at one end upon a bridge 19 which inclines downwardly from the grate to the hearth of the hearth chamber. A downwardly. inclined roof 20 is located above the bridge and this brid e and roof form together a downwarc ly inclined passage 21 which connects the tire lace with the hearth chamber.

An 0 set portion 22 is formed at the foot of the bridge, and the furnace walls are provided with feed openings 23 through which the charge may be fed. The charge is fed by means of a screw conveyer 24 constantly driven by a worm wheel 25 and a worm, the power being applied to the worm by means of a pulley 26. The charge is supplied to the screw by means of a hopper 9.7. The feeding arrangement is preferably duplicated on the opposite side of the furnace so that the charge is fed on the offset portion 22 from opposite sides. In this way the charges from the feed openings will meet in the center and drop off onto the hearth.

The side walls of the furnace extend inwardly as at 28 to form a constricted portion 29 and deflecting surfaces 30. The walls forwardly of the constricted portion are provided with feed openings 23 provided with mechanism similar to that described for continuously feeding the chargeirom the hoppers 27 over the hearth. The inwardly extending portions 28 divide the hearth chamber into two chambers A and; B

which are connected by the restricted portion 29.

The furnace hearth is )rovided with the usual working bottom ant tap holes 31, 32, and a skimming hole 33. The skimming hole 33 is closed by a suitable door. The side walls are provided with side doors 3:)

closed in the usual way. The gases passing through the hearth chambers are discharged Into a stack 36.

A series of downwardly inclined pipes 37 provided with nozzles are arranged to. direct a jet of air or steam over the fire so as to complete the combustion and to force the flame and the hot gases directly on the hearth. In order that the fuel may be con veniently supplied, the wall'above the grate has formed therein a series of holes 38 which are normally covered by stone slabs 39. The

fuel is stored in hoppers 40 provided with' telesco 'iing pipes 4-1 which are arranged to 27, 27 on the ofisetportion 22 at the foot of the bridge andalso forwardly of the con- I V tory furnace whlch comprises the step of V at the foot of the bridge and will strike the hearth bottom. As these gases pass through the interior of the furnace and thefsc'rews so that these screws are the heat.

and efiiciently utilized. a

forced by the jet down the inclined passage will pass along the bridge 19 and will pass fed from the sides of the furnace-andasthe be let down and locked in position by clamps I 42. The hoppers are provided With. slides l 43 o erated by handles 44. By removing the s abs39and letting down the pipes 41 the fuel may be fed on the grate by opening the slides 43. V

In operation the charge of ore or the like will be fed continuously from the hoppers stricted portion 29. The hot gases from the fireplace will be drawn by the stack and and into the hearth chamber. These gases over and throughthe fresh charge admitted the furnace chamber they are reflected from the roof and on the charge on thehearth at the bridge and at the constricted portion 29; The inclined walls 30 will reflect the heat forwardly against the fresh charges so as to smeltthe same. It will thus be seen that the heat is concentrated in the portion A of the hearth chamber, and the charge in this portion comes fully in contact with the hot gases- This portionof the chamber is the smelting chamber. The gases as they leave the portion A must pass over the charge at the constricted portion where the heat is utilized. As the charge is smelted it passes into the chamber portion B where the slag is skimmed off through the skimming hole or door 33. The roof 1.2 inclines from front to rear as in ordinary reverberatory furnaces so that the heat is also reflected on the hearth in the chamber portion B. In chamber portion A-however the hotgases are first directed directly on the hearth. and over and throughthe charge fed at the foot of the bridge and then reflected. r

Itv will be seen that the feeding screws 24 are back of the mouths'of the openings. 'In this way there is a column of ore'between protected against By means of the above described arrangement it is insured that the hot gases will come thoroughly in contact with the charge so that the heat in the gases will be fully The processiin addition is a continuous one the charge being smelted as feds The charge is continuously charge is smelted the molten material runs into the'chamber portion '13 and the slag is there skimmed off. The molten material is drawn off through the tap holes 31 and 32.

The furnace is especially useful for smelting ores and more especially calcined copper vention is not to be limited to this particular ap h1 'at1on.

It is obvious that various changes may be made-in the details of the method and ap- Zparatus without departing from the spirit of this invention, and it 1s therefore'to be understood that; this invention is not to be limited to the specific arrangements shown and described.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. The method of operating a reverberacontinuously' feeding the charge on the hearth from opposite sides of the furnace toward the'center. V

2. The method of operating a reverberatory smelting furnace having asmeltinghearth which comprises the steps of feeding the charge from the side at forward and rearward parts of the hearth, passing the hot gases on and past the freshly introduced charge on the forward part of the hearth.

and directing them on the freshly introduced charge on the rearward part of the hearth. Y 3. The method of operating a reverberatory smelting furnace having a smelting. hearth which comprises the steps of feeding the charge during the smelting operation at forward and rearward parts of the hearth, passing the hot gases onand past the freshly introduced charge onthe forward .part of the hearth and deflecting them on the freshly introduced charge on the rearward v part of the hearth.

4. In a reverberatory furnace, the combination with a hearth and a side wall having a feed openin therein at substantially the hearth level, 0 means backof the mouth of said opening for-positively feeding the charge there through and acrossthe hearth.

5. In a reverberatoryfurnace, the combination with a-hearth and side walls having oppositely arranged feed openings therein at substantially the hearth level, of means back of said openings for positively feeding the charge there through and on and across the hearth.

6. In a reverberatory furnace, the combination with a hearth.'of means'for positively feeding the charge on and, across the hearth from opposite sides toward the center. 7 r

7. In a reverberatory smelting furnace, the combination with a hearth chamber hav ing a smelting hearth and a deflecting roof,

of a grate above said hearth, a bridge in-- clining downwardly from the grate to thehearth level, and a downwardly inclined roof over said bridge forming therewith a downwardly inclined passage for passing the heating gases from said wardly on said hearth.

9. Tu a reverberatory furnace, the combination with a hearth'chan'iber having a hearth, of a fireplace connected to said grate downchamber, a bridge between said fireplace and chamber inclining downwardl to the hearth level, and means for feet in the charge on, said hearth at the foot of said bridge.

9. In a reverberatory furnace, the combination with a hearth chamber having a hearth, of a fireplace connected to said chamber and having a downwardl inclined grate, and a downwardly inclined ridge between. said fireplace and chamber and ex I tendin from the foot of said grate.

l0. n a reverberatory furnace,.the combination with a'hearth chamber, of side walls therefor, said side walls extending inwardly at'a polnt between the ends of said chamber to form a constricted portlon, and means whereby the charge may be fed near said constricted portion.

. 11., In a reverberatory furnace, the combination with a hearth chamber, of side walls therefor, said side walls extending in- .wardly'ata oint between the ends of said chamberto' orm a constricted portion, and means whereby the charge may be fed forwardly ofvand near said constricted portion.

12. In: a reverberatory furnace, the com:

bination with a lJBaIthXChEIIDbBI Of side walls therefor, said side walls extending inwardly at a oint between the ends of said chamber to orm a constricted portion, and

means whereby the charge may be fed in a forward partpf the hearth chamber and also forward iof and f'near said constricted por'tioni 9,, a Y

1 13. In a reverberatory furnace, the conr bination with a hearth chamber, of side walls therefor, said side walls extending in wardly'at a oint between the ends of said chamber to orm a constrieted" portion and forwardly facing deflecting surfaces, said chamber havingadownwardly inclined passage at the forwardend thereof, and means whereby hot ases may be passed through said passage, into said chamber and against saiddeflecting surfaces. 14. In .a reverberatory furnace, the combination with a hearth, chamber, of side.

walls therefor, said side walls extending inwardly at a point between the ends of said chamber to form a constricted portion, said chamber havin a downwardly inclined passage at the orward end thereof, means whereby hot gases may be passed through said passage and into said chamber, means whereby a charge may be fed at a point rearward of said passage and means where l by a charge may be fed at a point forward of said constricted portion.

15. The method of operating a reverbera- 'tory furnace which comprises the steps of continuously feeding the char e on the hearth from opposite sidesof t e furnace toward the center, and directing the hot gases directly on the hearth and the charge so fed thereon. Y

16. The method of operating a reverberatory furnace which comprises the steps of feeding the charge from the side at a forward and rearward part of the hearth, directing the hot gases on the charge at the forward part and deflecting them on the charge at the rearward part of the hearth.

17. In a reverberatory furnace, the combination with a hearth chamber having a hearth, of a fireplace connected to saidchamber, a downwardly inclined bridge between said fireplace and chamber, and means for feeding the charge from the side at the foot of said bridge,

18; In a reverberatory furnace, the combination with a hearth chamber, of deflecting means extending from the 'side walls thereof, and means for feeding the char e on said hearth from the side and forwardly of said deflecting means,

19. In a reverberatory furnace, the combination with a hearth chamber, of side walls therefor, said side walls extending inwardly at a point between the ends of said chamber to form a constricted portion, and means for feeding the char econ said hearth from the side and near sai constricted portion.

20. In a rcvcrberatory furnace, the combination with a hearth chamber, of side walls therefor, said side walls extending inwardly at a point between the ends of said chamber to form a; constricted portion, said chamber havin r a downwardly inclined passage at the orward end thereof, means :avhereby hot gases may be passed through said passage and into said chamber, and

means for feeding the charge on said hearth from the side at points rearward of said passage and forward of said constricted 

